One comment on “Bone oedema: can the hyperbaric chamber be useful?”

Good morning Ombretta,
Thank you for contacting us; I’m so sorry that you have faced this kind of situation.

Let’s start by saying that it would be important to examine magnetic resonance and have some more useful data (i.e. which bone is affected by oedema), nevertheless, I will try to provide you with general purpose indications that I hope can be helpful for you.

Bone oedema indicates that there is a spongy osseous thick bone pain of post-traumatic inflammatory origin. This pain may be due to several factors such as age, drugs, functional overloading, sports activities, mechanical or postural defects etc.
Oedema is a bone reaction that follows mechanisms similar to those of the other body tissues: for instance, if you hit a thigh, there will possibly be a bruise that represents the extravasation of local blood due to the breakage of small capillaries that carry blood.

The bone reacts really similarly to acute traumas or protracted over time.
Oedema is an indirect sign of localized ischemic pain and of active repair processes; it usually has prolonged healing times (months) and needs unloading for all the recovery period (walking with crutches).

In this sense, hyperbaric oxygen therapy might be a very important ally as it can considerably reduce tissue healing times thanks to the increase of oxygen fraction dissolved in the blood and therefore it allows its diffusion to tissues more rapidly and efficiently. Suffering tissue oxygenation implies that new blood vessels get formed and that cells responsible for the bone tissue formation are stimulated.

Generally, in cases similar to yours, an integrated approach that includes HBOT, magnetotherapy and physiotherapy proves to be very effective in accelerating healing times and solving the problem.
At our centre, this therapeutic pathway is prescribed and authorized by the physiatrist Dr. Fontana (coordinator of the rehabilitation team).

Were you interested, I invite you to book a first visit with the doctor by calling the number +39 0544 500152 or by writing an email to segreteria@iperbaricoravenna.it

I remain at your disposal for further information.
Maddalena Vassura,
Physiotherapist of the Ravenna Hyperbaric Centre